Arm’s Length Delivers An Emotionally Gratifying Masterpiece With ‘There’s a Whole World Out There’

Ontario-based emo band Arm’s Length have returned with their sophomore record, in ‘There’s a Whole World Out There’. This marks their first release since their debut record, ‘Never Before Seen, Never Again Found’, back in 2022. This album dives into a lot of personal and familiar themes from their first record, and them further expanding upon their sound. It also showcases once again how they’re one of the scene’s most prized up and comers within the past five years.

The record opens in a gloomy little intro, with “The World”. The vocals right away feel very raw as expected, and I also love the subtle country vibes in the instrumentals. The drumming here by drummer Jeff Whyte is also very on point all the way through. It makes for a wonderful opening track, and I love the album name drop on track one. It’s also a lyric that feels quite memorable and a great way to end it, with “there’s a whole world out there and you would have never known”.

We continue on with a more summer-y vibe with “Fatal Flaw” when it comes to the instrumentals, and it keeps the vibe from the previous song. These first two tracks really set the tone for this record in a seamless, and smooth type of way. The chorus is massive, and I love the energy shift with its mid-chorus too. The lyrics here feel very self-reflective and earnest, something that’ll be very much present on this record as a whole. It’s always such a huge flex throwing your band name casually in the bridge of a song like this, so sick. I can absolutely see this going over really well live for them, and it makes for an easy highlight off this record.

We follow up with the first single from the record, with “Funny Face”. This one goes for some nice 2000’s emo vibes, and I just love how masterful this band feels during their softer moments. It’s the little things, but they’re heard with such grace. I also love the switch up we get during the bridge and outro of this track, it keeps the listener on their toes. “A miracle but not heaven sent, more like a freak accident” is definitely a cheeky and nice lyric to have here too.

The record continues on with another of the singles, with “The Weight”. This one feels the most pop-punk out of all the tracks, with a bouncy chorus and just fun feeling sound wise. The lyrics also dive deep here into weight insecurities, and how it can affect your self-perception. The melodies here are off the charts as well, and it makes for another easy highlight overall. “How can you tell me I’m safe if I am seen?” is such a great line to get the message of the track across.

The album continues on with a softer track to slow it down a bit, with “Palinopsia”. I just love how soft the verses are to contrast with another big chorus. This one contains some memorable lyrics, some of the best of the album I feel like. I love how personal this band feels in their lyrics, it sets them apart from a lot of other bands and feels specific to them. It gives me such early morning vibes, like I could happily listen to this as the sun rises. The orchestral elements here also hit really hard, and it can really go a long way. One lyric that really stands out is “I’m an open wound and you never can tell if it’ll heal on its own, or if I’m desperate for help”.

That actually goes nicely theme wise into the next track, which is “The Wound”. This track might be the best on the album after a few listens. It feels like the signature sound of this band, and the folk-y elements on this really make it feel so special. “I’ve spent a lifetime longing to leave, how the fuck can I stay?” is maybe the best lyric on here as well. It’s also got one of the best choruses on here, by a mile. Shoutout to the guitar during the bridge by guitarist Jeremy Whyte, it feels like one of the more memorable parts of the record.

We reach the second half of the record, starting with the second (and my favorite) of the singles with “You Ominously End”. It follows the vibe perfectly with the previous track, and it’s bound to go absolutely nuts live. It’s accompanied by another massive chorus, well-implemented banjo, and the production really hits on here especially. The bridge goes absolutely crazy with vocalist Allen Steinberg’s screams, and the breakdown as well. The lyrics really stand out once again especially here, so much so that it was destined to be a fan favorite. The lil’ banjo outro is a nice touch to end it as well.

We’re then followed by the softest track on the record with an acoustic tune in “Early Onset”. The lyrics feel pretty relatable throughout on this one, and it reminds me of “Family and Friends” off of their debut. I just love how well-paced this album is throughout and that it still has the variety. Plus, the orchestral elements are so well earned and huge on this one as well.

We pick the energy back up with a more upbeat kind of track musically with “Genetic Lottery”. I love how sunny this song feels, even with its dark and cheeky lyrics being delivered here. I can also see this one being a fan favorite, with how catchy and seamless it is with mixing genres again other than just plain emo. It makes for yet another highlight off this album that’s full of them.

We reach the home stretch of the record, starting off with a more gloomy track in “Attic”. It feels like a darker type of track, with its lyrics and instrumentals are structured. I can’t get enough of whenever the banjo comes back, it just fits so incredibly well with their vibe as a whole. The bass by bassist Benjamin Greenblatt also stands out very nicely here. I also appreciate the placement of this track on the album, it really feels like we’re nearing the end of the record.

We reach the penultimate track with a more energetic and pop-punk focused one in “Halley”. I’m surprised this wasn’t a single, given how big the melodies are and how this felt like a shoe-in to be one of the first songs people hear first from this album. The lead guitar delivered by Jeremy sounds really great during the bridge, and the layered vocals during the outro are absolutely divine. I also wanna shout out the lyric “Your greatest fear is someone taking care of you, but that’s what I was made to do”. It’s so honest and the heart on your sleeve type of lyricism this band excels at.

We reach the end of the record with a pretty grand one, in “Morning Person”. It feels incredibly fitting to end the album with this one, as it contains one more huge chorus meant to be shouted at their live shows. I love how the folk elements come in one more time and how it just feels so well implemented throughout this album. The drums by Jeff go absolutely crazy here, as they’ve been impressive all throughout. And I just love the ‘one more thing’ type of switch-up we get at the end with the vocals going absolutely nutty one last time. And it ending with a slower acoustic version of the guitar part that opened this record is just true poetry to bookend this wonderful sophomore record.

I’ve got to say, delivering a worthy and quality sophomore record is tough for a lot of bands. But even after a monumental debut album, Arm’s Length have managed to hit even harder and deliver us a stellar record with ‘There’s a Whole World Out There’. The lyricism is this band just at the top of their game, and bands in the genre can learn a thing or two from how honest and clever they are here in songwriting. This band is truly one of the best bands to grace this scene, and this album feels like a true testament to that statement and they deserve everyone’s attention.